2.75 out of 5. There are some cute things about this book. I love that its based in London, there are so many Christmas settings and the Meet Cute is adorable. I also feel like there is some actual character growth on both sides that is being done and its refreshing and exciting. Themselves as well as their relationships in all their aspects have some very positive growth. So of course given the title, the movie she was in Christmas, Truly is basically Love Actually. A love Actually type of movie, that is as similar to love actually as can be. I love Love Actually. What I didn’t love about this book too much is how bad it made me feel about loving Love Actually. Your target audience for these books are probably people who love Christmas movies and books, so really if you are going to be a drag about Christmas and Christmas movies throughout the book eventually it starts feeling as a little bit of a dig. I’m the first to be able to make fun of myself and Christmas love, but it eventually can be too much. And even though at the end it tries to bring it together as to how she is living her Christmas movie, the disdain in general made it a little bit less special. I felt like the editors convinced the author that a Christmas book would make good money so she should go that way and this is her protest writing. I would say its a good Christmas book for those that do not like Christmas movies?

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=5 | 😘=4.75 | 🤬=4 | 17/18+

summary: this is hard to describe bc it doesn’t rely on as many tropes to carry the plot (but in a much more real sense it does??) which is a good thing! anyway. former child actor (one hit wonder in a popular Christmas movie) goes to England for the holidays and there’s this guy and this mansion and she’s an artist and they fall in love

thoughts: delightful and charming and witty. fantastic characters and pacing. I also loved that there was genuine conflict both inside and outside of the romance; like, these are fully fleshed people w problems separate from each other AND there is still drama together. it’s great. and it was simultaneously very silly and tropey (the Hallmark Christmas romance of it all) and very fresh; it didn’t rely on faux enemies-to-lovers to carry the plot, just a relationship building based on genuine, natural, romantic, vulnerable interactions between the MCs. slay.

A sweet holiday rom-com.

Charlotte is a talented illustrator and kind of a grump. She doesn’t like the holidays, perhaps especially because she starred in a cheesy Christmas movie when she was nine years old. She isn’t looking for love but she does meet a handsome and kind man who happens to live in the house where part of her Christmas movie was filmed…

This is a cozy, low angst read with a cheerful (despite the bad weather) setting of London and its suburbs in December. Charlotte and Graham are great together and I appreciated Charlotte’s general demeanor and humor. Overall, a fun and charming read.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I may not hate the holidays like Charlotte, but I do have a love/hate relationship with holiday romances! I found this one to be pretty cute and definitely has the signature humor that I expect out of a Martha Waters book.

I loved the side characters a lot - Charlotte's sister and her husband, and Graham's sister in particular. I thought the relationship between Charlotte and Graham was cute and that they had some pretty good chemistry and banter. I appreciated the trajectory of their relationship a lot

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is basically the book form of a Christmas Hallmark movie.

Overall this was a very enjoyable holiday romcom. Watching Charlotte and Graham fall in love with the backseat of the holidays and the help of their families made for a fun and easy read. In classic bibliophiles fashion, it was liters with romance tropes and literary & movie references.

Two smaller-ish complaints ultimately led me to give this a four star review. First, I don’t understand why Charlotte hates Christmas. I get why she has issues with Christmas, Truly and holiday movies generally…but I never understood why that led to her hating the holiday generally. Second, I don’t think the third act miscommunication makes sense. As both Ava and Padma point out, Charlotte’s issue isn’t with Graham so this last plot point felt rather forced.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fun and flirty Christmas delight! I always get so excited for all the holiday themed rom-coms to come out, and ‘Christmas Is All Around’ did not disappoint!

Charlotte is a ex child star that starred in one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time. Even though she left the acting world far behind, she still gets recognized, and now must deal with the dilemma of saying no to a much anticipated sequel. She meets Graham, whos family owns a house used in the original movie.

Charlotte and Graham have great chemistry. I really enjoyed the dynamic between them, and their families. I do wish we had an Epilogue to see what the outcome of their relationship was.

Would definitely recommend this one to add to your Christmas wishlist this year!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

Great holiday book to get lost in. I liked that the concept of the story differed from most. I thought it worked well. I also love books set in London, so this worked well for my tastes. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this Christmas read and will look foreword to breaking it out again when the season hits.

I really liked how while our grinchy heroine comes around a bit by the end, she doesn’t become like an overnight Christmas obsessed girl which seems to be how this trope goes sometimes. I enjoyed how the book took us gallavanting around London just had great vibes all around.

I was looking for a bit more from the ending, feel a bit bereft of closure, but overall a fun cute read I’ll come back to!

Charlotte is a former child actress in a classic holiday movie. Graham's family owns the Eden Priory- a filming location for her movie and drives her back to London after accidentally being left behind during her visit. He offers to help escorting her while she is commissioned to illustrate the movie scenes so his family will have more visitors.

Love Charlotte and Graham together. The small town is perfect. Love the christmas cheers and sweetness. The humour is terrific as well. A fun book to read even though it's only July!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

4⭐️
"I already worked out, about a week ago, that there's not much I wouldn't risk for you."

A fun, Christmas filled read! Our heroine Charlotte starred in a Love Actually-type movie, Christmas, Truly, when she was a child. A article claiming she shut down a reboot sends her fleeing to her sister's house in London for the six weeks before Christmas. Here, she meets our hero Graham, who actually grew up in a house used for filming in the movie.

This is filled with plenty of holiday vibes, despite the fact that Charlotte- and sometimes Graham- is a bit of a grinch around the holidays. Her sister and brother-in-laws family are continually doing very cheesy Christmas activities, that Charlotte is trying to avoid. Her and Graham visit various Christmas movie locations in order to commission art pieces, and when they're discussing the movies filmed there, I was like "wow that sounds terrible- I would totally watch it". Exploring London in December with them was wonderful, and I thought Martha Waters did a good job making you feel the frenzied holiday spirit. This is fun and flirty, but low on angst if that's what you're looking for!

I liked how Charlotte slowly starts to accept Christmas a little more by the end, but doesn't have a complete personality switch. Often times with this trope, the grinch-like character by the end is wearing ugly sweaters and singing carols, which in my opinion isn't realistic.

[I really wish this had an epilogue. Our characters make up after the third act breakup, and two pages later the book is done. We don't get to see how Graham fares looking after the house, or how the two of them make a long-distance relationship work, or if Charlotte moves to London. We don't even make it to midnight at New Years Eve, which seems silly seeing as the last section of the book is titled "New Years Eve." It just ended very abruptly. (hide spoiler)]

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas Is All Around is the latest and holiday romcom that I’ve read. And I loved every minute of it. It was great. A must read if you’re a fan of holiday romcoms.

This book made me SO ready for the holidays despite it being the middle of July! lol What a cute holiday romance with humor, lovable characters, and all the atmospheric vibes. I'm probably going to have to buy this in hard copy because it just has to go with my Christmas book collection!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review

Its Christmas in July so naturally I needed to read one feel good Christmas romcom. This one pokes fun at Hallmark movies, people's obsession with Christmas movies. It deals with subjects like making parents proud, being known for something (being a child star in a Christmas film....or owners of a huge estate) when you would much rather be known for something else.

Charlotte and Graham are a fabulous pairing. I kept picturing mixtures of different Hollywood and Hallmark actors and actresses throughout out the book. I am also resolved to see England and its countryside villages around the holidays. I know there is a lot of romanticism in what I say but goodness, I love the small town comraderie and excitement of the holidays. Plus I also kept picturing estates like Highclere Castle and when is it bad to think of Downtown Abbey

Yes its predictable. I don't even need to say spoiler alert. And we are left wondering at the end will the lovebirds survive after the holidays. But like Hallmark and Christmas movies...don't they usually end there anyway ;)